Restless
by Chloes-Cheese
Summary: Slight Spoilers. After years of suppressing her feelings for Chuck, Mako finds them coming back to the surface after the discovery of his survival. And now she can't sleep but she quickly discovers she's not the only one. Chuck/Mako. Post-movie.


**justwitteringon** gave me the prompt: idk like Mako's had a thing for Chuck's surly ass for years and now that's he's miraculously survived she doesn't waste another minute idk

**Author's Note: Okay I am so sorry this took so long, but I was having family time and things were happening so yeah, forgive me. Anyway, this sort of ran away from me. Like most of my fics, this was not at all what I planned out in my original synopsis but I like this version better. I think it fits a lot better with who the characters are than what I originally planned.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, oh you go!**

_Drip drip drip._

Mako buried her head in the pillow, utterly and completely frustrated. Despite her typically reasonable mind, she couldn't help but feel as though the universe was conspiring against her to keep her from sleeping. She wished she could say that her leaky faucet was the worst of her problems as she struggled to obtain unconsciousness, but it wasn't. Far worse were the avenues her stubborn mind would take her down as she lay in the dark with her eyes closed.

_Hands intertwined, fingers fisting through hair…_

Mako immediately opened her eyes. Thoughts like those were extremely unhelpful. And, unfortunately, she couldn't even say it'd gotten better in the two weeks since they closed the Breach, but, if anything, it had gotten worse. Objectively Mako knew that it was wrong to blame Chuck -that it was all her- but she couldn't help but be irritated at the affect he was having on her.

Before the breach it had been different, and at the academy it had been infinitely easier. He may have still been terribly full of himself, but the lack of success at that point had kept his ego at a more manageable size. And when they'd both graduated and gone their separate ways she'd found it much easier to focus entirely on the goal at hand. But with the closing of the other Shatterdomes and his transfer to Hong Kong where she was stationed, she discovered that those feelings had not only not gone away with him but instead had multiplied in their dormancy.

He was still a jerk, and, of course, completely oblivious to how she had once felt but that was just fine with her as far as she was concerned. He was thoroughly frustrating and rude; and yet, when she'd lie down at night, she'd still see him in her mind's eye and hear all the things she'd never told him.

It wasn't that he was such a bad guy, in fact, as one of the most successful rangers the PPDC had and crucial to humanity's fight for survival, he was actually a really good one. But he was antagonistic towards Raleigh and dismissive towards her. Though if she thought about it really hard she could see that Chuck had been so worried about Raleigh because he really had been out of the game for too long, and that, because of that, he might endanger the mission. Also, Mako suspected Chuck didn't like him because Raleigh reminded Chuck what would happen if he ever lost. And Chuck could only stay on top if he believed in his head that he could always win.

But then he _had_ lost, lost as he won the war when he and Stacker had blown up Striker Eureka to buy Gipsy Danger more time. And losing the two of them had hurt more than Mako cared to admit and so she'd clung to Raleigh, as her friend and anchor.

But Chuck was alive- ejected by Stacker in an escape pod at the last minute with the sensors on the pod knocked out by the nuclear blast.

And now, despite everything that had happened and everything they still had to do, Mako found herself lying awake most nights. Chuck was alive… and it seemed like she'd been given a second chance.

During the day it was a completely different story however. She would help Herc with his Marshall duties as the United Nations Pan-Pacific Breach Working Group decided the fate of the Jaeger program while Chuck was treated in the infirmary. She could take all such wandering thoughts about the recovered Ranger and lock them away safely so that she could perform her duties at the height of her performance.

But he was out now- had been for a couple days- and it was taking everything in Mako's normally reasonable mind not to grab him by the shoulders and tell him everything that she thought and felt about him- or rather- show him.

The night time was always worse. She couldn't exactly bury herself in meetings and planning sessions, and there were only so many reports she could file before her eyes grew too tired. But not her mind; her mind was like a light bulb without an off switch, burning hotter and brighter the more she tried to turn it off.

It was maddening, and since her last two and a half hours of attempts at sleep had proved fruitless, she fell back on an old standby of training to tire her body in the hopes her mind would follow.

Slipping on some simple workout clothes, Mako padded quietly through the halls from her quarters to the Kwoon. The training room was empty and she was glad. It was one of the reasons she didn't mind training at night because there would be no inquiring eyes to watch her every move. Of course, it was also empty of equipment, so she went down the hall to retrieve a punching bag and a quarter staff for her to work with. After retrieving her equipment, she returned to the training hall only to see that it was no longer empty.

There was Chuck. He was facing the other way, going through forms and testing out his sore limbs. And Mako couldn't help but stare at his shirtless back and the newly formed scars that clustered along one of his sides and arms. She had similar circuitry scars, as did Raleigh, and she believed anyone else who had piloted a Jaeger. Even though the way he held himself indicated that he was in pain from the exertion, he was very controlled. He wouldn't allow himself to show any weakness despite believing he was alone. And she couldn't help but admire how fluidly he moved- a word she had certainly never thought could apply to him before. But then he tried a new form, moving the arm on his injured side to the front and attempting to switch positions quickly when he faltered and stumbled.

She'd been so enthralled in watching him move that she didn't realize her lapse in concentration until his stumble startled her. At the sudden movement she felt the heavy sandbag drop from her grasp and land on the floor with a loud thud.

Mako cringed and Chuck froze instantly, whipping around to identify the noise. His eyes widened as he spotted her.

"I didn't think anyone would be in here." He informed her gruffly.

"Neither did I," she said, grateful that she had at least managed to keep her voice level.

He turned as if he meant to leave. Her brain was screaming at her to just let him but before he could even take a step her mouth blurted out, "You dropped your shoulder too soon."

He paused and looked at her, a challenge in the set of his jaw, "Is that so?"

Part of her just wanted to duck her head and tell him to forget about it but she was Mako and she would never back down from anything. So instead she squared her shoulders and looked him straight in the eye, "It is."

He looked intrigued by the challenge and faced her properly, "Then you should show me how it's done."

She furrowed her brow in response, "I thought the doctors told you not to over exert yourself."

He sighed and rolled his eyes, "If I take it any easier I'm going to internally combust. Would you just spar with me please?"

Her instincts were at war with themselves. Half of her was worried that indulging him in this would do a lot more harm than good and would, in fact, only set back his recovery further. The other half of her was sorely tempted by the way he asked her. Chuck had never really asked for much, he had always just gone for whatever he wanted. But he had asked this time and that had made her even more inclined than she already was. She reasoned that if she helped him work around his injuries in his forms he would be less likely to strain something during his recovery. Mako just had to tell herself she didn't want to just so she could be close to him.

And that wasn't it. She had seen something in his eyes, a desperation; a worry that she'd say no and he would have to go back to his room and be alone with his own troubling thoughts- that truly gave her pause. Some part of her couldn't help but think she might be making her decision based on her hormones but Mako knew better than that. She figured it'd be better he do this with someone to keep an on him rather than all alone in the middle of the night when no one could help if he injured himself by going through his forms incorrectly.

Her mind made up, she put down the quarter staff she still had in her grasp and faced him head on, but instead of engaging him she said, "Start the move again."

He looked as if he was going to argue but he changed his mind at the last minute and grudgingly reassumed his stance. Going through the motions, he extended his arms and shifted his weight and as he pulled his arm down and towards himself, he faltered again.

"You're pulling your arm in at the wrong angle and the way you shift your feet causes you to add more strain to your injured side than necessary." She informed him like she was an instructor.

"Then what should I do instead?" He challenged with a raised eyebrow, waiting for her to put her money where her mouth was.

"Watch me very carefully," she commanded as her small and lithe figure moved through the motion with a grace and flexibility Chuck knew he could never master. When she was done, she looked at him expectantly, "Now you try."

Chuck chose to bite back a sarcastic remark about how she made everything look easy and instead just get it over with. But, once more as he came to the final motions, a nerve within his injured side seized up preventing him from following through correctly.

She watched him very carefully and could tell he was beginning to move out of impatience so she stepped forward as soon as he stopped. She could see pain clear in his face. She wanted to tell him to simply set aside the form and the training until he was officially cleared by the doctors. But, at the same time, she knew that even if she did he would just sneak back here when she wasn't around later. At least this way there was someone to keep an eye on him and correct his motions. Frustrated, he dropped the form and looked as if he was trying to move onto another one when she interrupted

"Stop. Resume the starting stance again," she instructed, closing the distance between them, completely focused on the task at hand. He clearly wanted to argue but with one look at her face, he realized there was no point and did as she asked. "Now begin the move very slowly."

When he began to bring his arm in and shift his weight she stopped him by placing one hand on his shoulder, much to his surprise.

"See right here is where you start to go wrong," she informed him, trying to suppress the blush that the contact with his skin had created. There was half a second when her fingers first touched his arm that a sort of thrill shot through her to awaken butterflies in her stomach. She was instantly reminded of all the thoughts that had kept her from sleeping in the first place.

But now was not the time for that, so she shoved them aside, focusing all of her attention on the task at hand instead. She repositioned to hold his shoulder with more surety than she felt. But she knew what she was doing and she was not going to let her feelings keep her from performing her self-appointed duty.

She gently urged his arm into motion again to continue the move and, despite his previous determination to always be in charge, he allowed her to guide him slowly. It was one of the few changes Mako had noticed in him since the breach. As she eased his arm into the correct angle for the form that wouldn't strain his injury he began to move the rest of his body to follow. He started to angle forward, shifting his weight to the leg on the injured side when she held him in place, pausing the form.

"Hold there, see? You are starting to shift with your feet first, then forcing your hips to follow which is straining your bruised ribs on that side. What you need to do is to start the motion in your core. Ease the weight to your side and then follow it down to your feet."

He looked down at her as he tried to follow her direction though it was a motion that seemed hard to understand with words alone. She seemed to sense that and thus demonstrated the motion with her own body.

Like before it looked more natural on her than anything he, as a rough Australian native, thought he could replicate, but he tried. He then began to move awkwardly so she halted him again by placing a hand on his hip and gently directing him in the indicated manner, unconsciously doing the gesture again herself. With her example and guidance he finally performed it as she specified. And despite the usual ache of his sore ribs and shoulder, it didn't hurt nearly as much as it had the last several times he'd attempted the form.

He looked at her with amazement and she couldn't help the proud smile that lit up her face. She then realized exactly where her hands had ended up during her determination to assist him and how warm and muscled he was. She immediately dropped her hands in embarrassment. She had no idea what had come over her. She'd been so completely absorbed in correcting him she hadn't even noticed that she had her hands all over him. She immediately took a step back, not able to help the feeling of mortification that washed over her.

"That's very good." Mako mumbled as she cast her gaze down to the floor, hoping to hide her face with her hair.

He couldn't help but notice the gesture even if he had no idea what it meant –he'd never really had a good understanding of women- but he was grateful. He'd never been good with gratitude or words either but since he nearly died and felt he left so many things unsaid before, he figured it was as good a time as any to try. "Thank you."

She looked up, startled by the depth and sincerity in his words. He had always been very rough around the edges and despite his exemplary record as a Ranger and back in the academy, he wasn't ever one to really say thank you.

He saw the confusion in her eyes and figured it meant he needed to clarify, "For helping me and for not treating me like I'm gonna break if I move anything."

Her eyes were glued to his face. She'd never heard anything like this from him before in all her years of knowing him. And because he was being open with her she felt it was her turn to confess something as well, "I know you won't, you've always been stronger than that."

There was a strange glimmer in his eyes when he met her gaze. He'd only just realized that she actually saw him. Not like the media saw him- as a heroic bad boy; not like his father- who saw everything but was always disappointed by the flaws; not like Stacker- as an egotistical jerk with daddy issues. She saw he was flawed but she also saw his strength. She seemed to have always seen him, even back at the academy. She never put up with his shit but never put him down either. She was a truly unique woman and he couldn't help but think that Raleigh was a lucky man for being her copilot.

And he chuckled at that. Him?, jealous of Raleigh, who would've thought? Things really had changed. "Well you're the only one." He finally said, just a trace of bitterness in his voice.

He started to look away but as he did she saw the faintest trace of something in his eyes: a hint of similar feelings for her like she had for him. Had his stubbornness finally cracked? He'd always sworn to live his life to fight the kaiju and to never allow anything to distract him from that, but was that still the case?

Mako didn't know but she was determined to find out if she could. Though it seemed as though her window was closing; that he was retreating back into himself and the moment was over. But then, just as he looked as if he was about to move away, he stopped and turned back and she'd be damned but she couldn't completely wipe the hopeful look off her face.

And when he met her gaze there was definitely something there, a vulnerability that she'd never seen before. It was as if he almost didn't want to leave but didn't know what else to say, "Thank you again."

And she would have been fine with that, fine with letting that be it. But then he placed a hand on her shoulder, and it was strong but yet gentle; like he was seeking reassurance from human contact. Between that and the way he looked at her, she knew she was fighting a losing battle with the thoughts she had tried to keep at bay for years.

And before either of them knew what was happening, she was closing the distance between them and he found himself moving to meet her half way. As their lips found each other it was as gentle and unsure as it was insistent and hungry. He needed to be felt, to feel alive and needed, and she needed to feel him, to reassure herself it was really happening.

His hand cupped her chin, pulling her closer, her blue tipped hair tickling his wrist. Her hand found his shoulder once more while the other found his back. Her fingers brushed the newly healing pinkish circuitry scars that spider webbed across his shoulder and down to his side while his other hand found her own scars to match on her arm that was bared by her tank top.

She could feel his heart beating through her tank top- each beat reinforcing the reality of the moment that seemed to come straight out of one of her more racy fantasies.

Finally it became too difficult to breathe and they were forced to break apart. Her hands still rested on his upper arms, holding onto him to stabilize herself. Both found themselves at a complete loss for words- the sensations of what just happened still washing over both of them in full force.

Eventually their eyes found each other again- his questioning, hers without answers for once. And when their breath came back to them but they still had no idea where to go from there. It had come on so suddenly for both of them, they hadn't really spared much thought for the aftermath. She finally let go haltingly and he did the same, clearing his throat while she tugged on the bottom of her shirt uncertainly.

Unsure of what else to say she found herself asking, "Do you come and train every night?"

Glad to have finally landed on a subject of discussion he shrugged his shoulders, "Some nights, mostly when I can't sleep."

"If you had difficulty with any other forms," she started uncertainly but at least she was trying, "I could meet you here and talk you through them again."

He cocked his head at that, unsure if it was a legitimate offer- because he really could use the help- or if it was an invitation for more of what they'd just done. So he began just as awkwardly and unsure as she had, "It depends; will I be thanking you like that every time?"

There was a slight flush to her cheeks- though Chuck couldn't have said if it was from the kissing or the question- but she still managed to give him a sort of teasing look as she answered, "We'll just have to see."

Oh he was definitely intrigued by this new side of Mako he was seeing, just as Mako was by this more intimate Chuck that had emerged from the wrecked life pod of Striker Eureka.

"Then I'll see you tomorrow night." He told her with a mischievous grin.

"That you will Mr. Hansen." She replied as she walked past him to retrieve the training equipment she'd brought in earlier. With one last backward glance at him she left the room to return the unused equipment.

And when she returned to her room that night she found that though the outing had served its purpose to put her to sleep immediately, the visions that filled her sleeping mind were infinitely more vivid.

_Fingers ghosted across scars, lips traced shoulder blades…_

And it was safe to say all thoughts of her leaky faucet were a distant memory.

**Author's Note: And there we have it. My first outright Chako fic. This went through many different variations on how it could play out but I think this is the one that seemed the most plausible.**

**Well I certainly did try and I hope you all enjoyed it. Especially you, jutwitteringon, this was for you. Thanks for the prompt! **

**Please let me know what you guys think! I'm still very new to this prompt thing.**


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